Bird nest material dispenser - 2

I posted yesterday what becomes the 'part 1' now.  See older post.  I closed with the expectation that I would capture the tailorbird drawing cotton from the dispenser.  It had spotted the source within 2-3 hours of hanging it there.  I waited this morning as most birds are known to devote more time to search and shunt to and fro the new nest with the materials during the morning as it will be cooler.  Sure enough, at around half past seven, the tailorbird made a revisit.  I was about 20 feet away, sitting still, camera on the ready!

It had already made some trips by the time I spotted this - see how the cotton is disturbed.  I sat there after my morning coffee.

I must remodel this.  If the cotton moves down, it cannot perch and draw.  Here it can reach from the branch. 

I mentioned in my last post about my plan for another dispenser for fibrous material.  Here it is and that is why this is 'part 2'.  I had stiff copper wire.  About 2 metres were required to coil it using a long-neck PET bottle. a tip I got in the link given in the previous post. I used a centre wire to hold the top and bottom at the same distance and this serves as the hanger also.  I needed this to prevent the copper coil from stretching down. 

I thank my squirrel that had collected all those jute thread fibres available for it when the construction activity was going on previously and the workers had used the jute threads for scaffolding.  There were some longer pieces of rope also in the squirrel nest!  Ask me where it had made.  It was on the bedroom window, in the gap between the insect screen and the always-closed bottom-half wooden window, safe from rain and sun.  I had removed and kept the entire abandoned nest in some corner.  It came in handy for this more than 6 months later.  Now I'm waiting to see if they need the fibres.  I'll put some thread pieces and may be cotton also here.

Bird nest material dispenser -1

Some months ago while browsing for some ideas of a bird house, I bumped into a site wherein a bird nest material dispenser was featured.  It was something like this: See the link having a very brief  post.  It was a project I could make and I knew it was needed for our little feathered friends as well, in particular, the tailorbird. 

April to August is supposed to be the nesting season for the tailorbird and yesterday I saw this:

I thought this is the right time to provide them some easy pickings for their nesting endeavours.  I found a no-longer-in-use bill holder.  Bills were pierced through the top of the wire and pushed down to the wooden stand, which is actually a base of my grandfather's trophy which is in the showcase.  The base was too big for the rack.

I poked some surgical cotton which I keep in the first-aid box and some thread in the form of cleaning waste cotton [red thing] which is very thready.  I thought the birds would like them. This is a beginning experiment.

Since the item was ready, it took no time to install.  I hung it around noon on the hibiscus plant where the tailorbirds frequent.  And in the evening, I saw the cotton being pulled from different sides!  I had later hung it on the curry plant as I could view it clearly from the room window.  Usually in the mornings they are more active collecting materials. Let me see if I can catch them on camera, picking [with thanks] cotton.

I now plan to add some coconut fibre and jute thread and do what you saw in the link I gave in the beginning.  I will be trying to improvise on this project.

I had already made a post on the nests with images.  See it here. [Click]

Yarden Re-shape

Gardeners do this oftentimes - reshaping or moving plants around!  I am no exception.  In my opinion, if a design is 'permanent' then there is no scope for creativity and we get new ideas every now and then.  So if there are 'movable assets' as I call stones, curbs and bricks, I can convert the seed ideas into fruition.

Now, all I did was to remove one half of the tomato trellis which was obscuring the path and a straight bed parallel to the 'dismantlable' moat-parapet.  The tomato plants had dried. So it was time to remove them.  I also observed that only one half of the trellis and a netting above it were sufficient for 3-4 tomato plants.  I shifted one half of the trellis - which actually is in the shape of a gate [iron] near the Gerbera plant.

Support frame that held the tomato plant - seen on left, one half retained.  See the other slightly to the right.

View from the other side.  See the straightened bed and the other frame. 

Another view.

Shade net can be seen. 

Last week, I also erected a shade net to protect the small yarden from the sun this summer which is expected to be quite warm due to a huge shortfall in the last monsoon.

A garden friend from Dave's Garden, Dee [who lives in a Dome-shaped Home] has sent me some 9-10 varieties of seeds which I plan to try-grow this coming June when rains should start after summer.

It was a lot of work today as I had also prepared the bed by sieving out the new bed. The soil had plenty of cement grits which had got mixed up when the earth was used for concrete roof centering for the house which was built more than a year ago.  I salvaged the good earth and also raised the entire garden area, using stone curbs that are not visible.

All those were done at a time when the other half of our house which is now owned by someone is being dismantled.

Earthworms in the yarden

The Common Earthworm in my yarden [click for link - National Geographic].  

This is a beautiful specimen I had found some time ago while digging the bed.  I have kept it on a huge almond leaf for size [first picture].  The sight and presence of these is a positive sign for gardeners.  In my yarden, they are lucky because I do not poison the earth with pesticides or use any kind of inorganic manure.     In the above link please read 'Did you know?'.  You will know about a popular legend we all talked about.  Very nicely the doubt is cleared!

Click here for more [Wiki] information on the "farmers' friend".

Bird bath mirror fun

2010 October

Above two images, December 2010. 

Those are Sunbirds I had noticed this enjoying itself in front of the scooter's mirror.  Having seen their curiosity I had wanted to place a mirror there for them.  After more than two years I implemented now.  But to have some fun with other birds - to see how they react to the mirror at the bird bath itself, which is almost at the open scooter shed.  

Red-whishered Bulbuls are regular visitors to the bath.  A couple came as usual and noticed this new object, investigated, sat on it and made sure there was no danger from it.  Both of them seemed to agree. .

Before splashing, one of them positioned itself right in front of it, on the brim of the bath, spread its wings as it made a peculiar sound a few times.  I may interpret this as a pleasure sound, which I had not observed any of these do before!  It was now seeing 'another bird'!  It was a funny reaction.  I could not photograph it.  

Splashing happily!

After the dip-splash, they sit on another twig higher up - which I have also provided - and wriggle the water from their wings. 

I will shift the mirror to the wall in the shed where the tailor birds and sunbirds like to go.  There are branches  of the Holmskioldia shrub which has its feet in the shed and 'limbs' growing outside and through a gap left between the compound and roof of the shed.  They like these branches.  So I will hang it near here and see what they do.  I have also provided a horizontal stick [which can be seen in the picture above] in front of the mirror for them to sit and look at themselves.  Let me see.  

Small tribute to Shirley

I had been posting images from my Yarden on Dave's Garden [DG], be it flowers, birds or insects, for some years before.  There was one person using the screen name as 'scooterbug' who was also taking part in the discussion forums where I had posted images.  I had come to know that the person was Shirley, the same name as that of my earliest primary school teacher of decades ago.  

One day, in September 2006, she sent me this message on the internal mail at DG: 

Hiya Dinu ,

is the address listed here in the 'Members Address Exchange' your current addie ?

~ ~ ~ S

There was a move to register all the members' addresses on DG at that time.  She had found it.  When I confirmed to her, she said she was ordering a book for me online.  So I gave my office address, surprised, delighted and moved by her gesture.  She was sitting half way round the earth in the United States and had ordered a book from an Indian supplier!  Book pictured above.  The book was delivered at my desk two weeks later and I did not know how to acknowledge her.  She had not told what it was about.  Now the book I was actually looking for, which she did not know, was sitting in my hands!  She had gauged my interest in birds from the forums. So she had decided to choose this for me!  

This is why I have held DG in high esteem also because it has members as generous, kind and helpful to others as Shirley and Ursula.  There are many others who I have heard of.   Shirley knew me only on those discussion forums and she was coming forward on her own to gift me with that!  What we receive, must be transferred to someone and this cycle must go on. Ursula, of whom I have already mentioned in my earlier posts, called this as 'pay forward'. 

Late in December 2012, I got the news that Shirley was no more.  She had left us on 18th December and the previous day was her birthday. It was really shocking news.  One member got to know that it was due to a heart attack.  I checked her facebook page and found that her last posting there was on 17th.  I had posted this screen shot image on DG in the 'Memory Garden' forum where the sad news was shared.

Some who had seen her images opined that she did not look that old, while some admired her sense of humour and kindness. There were a few images of her shared on that DG forum.  May he soul rest in peace. The book will be specially cherished.

[This post is also up at Mysorean Musings]

Tomatoes, first real growing!

I was not serious about these tomatoes in the garden because they grew from the kitchen waste thrown in the yard and would often spread some distance only to rot away after producing one or two little fruit.  I wondered how farmers grew so much that they would be left to rot when they cannot sell the produce.  There is even a Tomato Festival in Spain where they throw tomatoes at people!  We have heard of bad politicians being thrown tomatoes at.  Let me come to more serious matter now.

When the new garden space was decided, I demarcated the halves where I would grow ornamentals and kitchen veggies.  So I was just browsing the net.  Some years ago I had just in passing seen some tomato mesh to support the plant, but had not taken seriously as I could not believe my yard tomato plants would grow that much!  When I saw a really beautiful tomato vine support pole, I was impressed.  I wanted to try it real serious this time.  That was in November. 

I had two metal gates meant to serve me as a garden trellis handy.  I placed them at the demarcated line for growing tomatoes.  I found a few plants from the compost pit and planted them just like I had done before!  As it began to grow taller, I observed how they got  trained to the trellis, but it needed some help when a branch would hang by its weight.  I've not put any manure to the soil.  Just some ordinary soil that was there which I sieved out stones which I dislike.  I kept adding some dry leaves and some wood ash from time to time to the base of the plants. I spray some water to the leaves to clean the dust as this is a very dusty season. 

Picture taken from the 'ornamental  half' of the garden.

I tied a piece of nylon net to hold the branches. 

I am happy so many fruits have grown!   It has good taste and stays fresh for a long time.

Now I want to grow more!  I will try with some manure and on the way, I learnt from a video by Dave at Dave's Garden how to grow tomatoes. I saw there that the plant has to be sowed a bit deep.  I am going to try this and also add manure in my next attempt after the summer months. 

Home grown tomatoes seldom rot and so I've to search for rotten tomatoes in the compost pit now, for the next time!